Quaternized nitrogen-containing cellulose ether derivatives are well known and possess certain desirable properties as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,840, including substantivity to many substrates. However, these quaternized compounds are strongly polar and lack lipophilic groups. Thus they are of limited use in applications and systems which are relatively incompatible with polar anionic polymers and surfactants.
The high charge density of the N,N-dialkenyl-N, N-dialkyl ammonium halide cellulosic graft polymers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,523 and the hydrophobe substituted, quaternary nitrogen-containing cellulose ether derivatives of U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,159 employed in hair care are not easily removed by shampoos and tend to build up on the hair filaments to give a dull waxy appearance. On the other hand, the non-ionic cellulose ethers of U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,277 possess little substantivity in that they do not interact with ionic substrates such as the keratinous material of hair and skin.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to overcome the above deficiencies and to provide a substantive, mildly cationic cellulosic graft polymer particularly suitable for conditioning and cleansing of hair and skin and useful in all applications in which quaternary nitrogen-containing cellulosic materials have been utilized.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and disclosure.